Eglise Sainte-Jeanne-d'Arc France

Legendary

A church built to honor French heroine, Jeanne-d’Arc.

In 1939, workers in Rouen carefully removed 13 stained-glass windows from a church called Saint-Vincent and hid them away. Five years later, bombs destroyed the building completely.

The glass survived. It sat in storage for 40 years, waiting for somewhere to go.

That somewhere is this church. Built in 1979, Église Sainte-Jeanne-d'Arc was designed around those rescued windows, which now form a glass wall covering 500 square meters.

The windows were made between 1520 and 1530, making them roughly 500 years old. They show scenes from the Bible, including the childhood of Jesus and the Crucifixion, along with stories of saints.

The church sits on the Place du Vieux-Marché, the old market square. This is the exact spot where Joan of Arc was burned in 1431.

Joan was a teenage girl from a farming village who led French armies during the Hundred Years' War. She was captured, put on trial, and executed here at about 19 years old.

Centuries later, the church declared her innocent and made her a saint in 1920. Today she's one of the most famous figures in French history.

The building looks nothing like a traditional church. Architect Louis Arretche designed a curving roof covered in slate and copper scales, shaped like an upside-down boat.

Some people see a Viking longship, a reminder that Normandy was settled by Norse sailors. Others see the flames of the fire where Joan died.

Inside, wooden beams arch overhead like the ribs of a boat under construction. The building was consecrated in April 1979 and officially opened a month later by the president of France.

Step inside and let your eyes adjust to the colored light pouring through the 500-year-old glass. Walk outside to the 20-meter cross marking the spot where Joan of Arc died. Wander the square afterward, lined with half-timbered houses that were already old when she stood here.